Success Isn’t Easy, But It’s Simple

Digging a trench that’s 50 feet long and 30 feet wide is simple, but it’s certainly not going to be easy.

Once a week I send you the Tuesday Tidbit. I’ve written it, consistently, for over 130+ weeks in a row. It’s simple, but it’s certainly not easy.

My tidbits sometimes have the odd typo or twwo. I usually find out when the typo police sirens come storming down my inbox by about 9:30 AM, but I haven’t missed sending a Tuesday in the past 130+ weeks and don’t plan on missing one anytime soon.

Far too often, organizations give up on things that are simple because they’re not easy.

I spoke to the VP of a large tech company last week that said their post-purchase customer follow-up is terrible because they’re incredibly inconsistent. They don’t have procedures and processes in place for what happens once a new customer is signed on. What happens directly after the sale is just ludicrous not to be thinking about.

Another CEO walked up to me after a speech the other day and said the breakthrough thing I said was, “consistency over quality.” He explained that there is such a focus on perfection with every piece of marketing and messaging that their consistency severely suffers. A newsletter might go out one month, but not for the next two. There’s no chance of bonding and building relationships if you’re inconsistent.

In all of the clients I’ve worked with, less than 10% have a clearly-defined sales process. In the ones that do, less than 10% are following the steps because there’s no accountability. There are no tools in place to ensure those steps are really being followed.

Very often the recommendations I’m making to clients are simple. And very often, there’s pushback. Staff might say things like, “we’ve already done that,” or “we can get that done over the next three days.” They say these things even though whatever “that” was sat there for the past three years because it wasn’t easy.

Sometimes, the most incredible value comes from identifying all the things that aren’t getting done and putting the right tools, plans, and procedures into place to get them done.

Over the past 130 weeks, I’ve given you 130 simple challenges, any one of which could create a breakthrough in your business. If you’ve avoided putting any of them into action because they seemed too “simple,” then it may be time for a second look at them.

And if you want to find the simplest, fastest actions you can take to move towards becoming an Evergreen company, then set up a call with me – I’d love to talk to you and see how I can help you.

This Week’s Key Questions

Do you have a detailed written out sales process?

Do you have a detailed written out post-purchase follow-up plan?

Do you have a detailed written out customer relationship building plan or content schedule for nurturing customers?

If you’re doing these things consistently, and exactly as you know you should be – congratulations! Now list 3-5 additional things that you should be doing every week that you’re not.